The Shrine of Spirits
by NinjaNish
Summary: Three years have passed since Lara's home was burned down by her doppelganger... Now our heroine wants to try to bring her dear friend Alister back from dead...


_**DISCLAIMER: Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are owned by Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Interactive and Core Design. Other characters mentioned here, such as Winston, Alister and Zip, are also owned by respected developers of the game. The situation and the story, as well as other characters in this fiction are mine.**_

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><p><em><strong>NOTE: I plan to add a new chapter to this story each weekend, so if you are already interested, please check out for regular updates.<strong>_

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE – Croft Manor<strong>

Three years have passed since the Croft Manor was burned almost to the ground, and since Lara returned from Helheim after she had killed Atlantean goddess Natla. The manor has already been renovated, and everything seemed to get back to normal. However, Miss Croft lost much more than one million pounds she had spent to renovate her home. In the fire set by her doppelganger she lost more than a house and much more than money; all the work of her father and grandfather was forever lost, including books, documents, maps, artifacts; her own work was also forever lost in the ashes… But what hurt Lara most, was the loss of her dear friend Alister… Yes, she found out what happened to her late mother, she saved the world from fierce Natla, she retrieved the famous Thor's Hammer, but nothing, no achievement ever, could bring Alister back…

"If only I could turn back the time", pondered Lara many times over in the last three years.

Even when she was a teenager, and when she lost her parents, Lara knew that she would have to sacrifice a lot to have the lifestyle she chose. In her pursuit for famous and infamous artifacts and archaeological sites, in her aspiration for the reputation of the best archeologist in the world ever, she had to stay alone, with no emotional connections to another people. She knew she would never get married and have kids, and that probably she would never have a love relationship, that her life would never be what other people consider normal. But she was willing to pay that price, and not once did she regret making that choice. It was best for her to remain alone, with no emotional attachments and no complications. However, she did have just a few very close friends whom she loved deeply. She did not trust people a lot; she never let anybody close, apart from Winston, Zip and Alister, who were her best friends, her family and her coworkers.

Lara was built of stone and iron, and not of flesh and blood, at least her friends thought so. She never expressed her emotions, except those of anger or ambition, she was always reserved, cold blooded and whenever they tried to say something nice to her, she used brutal sarcasm to keep the distance between them. But by no means had it meant that she had no feelings in the bottom of her heart. Although she was strong and not easily shaken, she felt a lot in her heart, and she loved her friends more than they could ever wish. Yes, she never told them how much she cared for them and how much she loved them, that was a part of her self-discipline learnt in Tibet long time ago. But no meditation and no discipline could make her not feeling anything. And today, three years after the death of Alister, she felt grief she had never felt in her whole life, grief deeper than the grief she felt when her father died so many years ago. Although she did not believe in god, tonight she said the first prayer in her life, asking god to help her bring Alister back from dead.

"Miss Croft", she was so absorbed in thoughts that she did not hear Winston opening the door of her study, "It is almost midnight, and you have been closed in here for the last ten hours", said the good butler.

"I am thinking…" replied Lara absently, not wanting to say about what she was thinking, but Winston knew her too well.

"You cannot bring Alister back, Miss Croft", said he calmly.

"Can I indeed not?" asked she, realizing that she could never hide anything from Winston.

"Don't even think about it, Lara", said the old man, using this familiar tone with her this time. He saw in her eyes that one very dangerous idea had just flew through her head, so using the tone her father had used when she was a little girl, he tried to stop her, although he knew it had already been too late. Once Lara got an idea, she became unstoppable.

"I ran across a very old legend, Winston, which I believe is true, at least partially. There is an ancient ritual…"

"Miss Croft, that legend is just a legend… When your mother disappeared, your father used that ritual trying to bring her back to life, but everything was in vain… You are just wasting your time, and probably more than just a time, because it is very, very dangerous."

"Of course my father had no success", responded Lara passionately, "Because my mother was not dead! She was only trapped in the underworld, but not dead, it was I who killed her, remember?"

"Lara, please", the old man tried this one last time to bring her to her sense, "That is just a legend! A far too dangerous legend…"

"Winston, my friend, I faced many dangerous situations, I faced many dangerous people, gods and lunatics, so I think I am pretty much prepared for any danger, natural or supernatural. I think it is worth trying."

Having said that, she stood up and looked at Winston briefly, suddenly changing her tone from a friend to a mistress.

"Tomorrow morning I am leaving for Central Africa. Prepare my guns and my gear, Winston, and alert Zip to be ready tomorrow morning at six o'clock, he's coming with me."

She then left the study, leaving confused and troubled Winston alone with his chaotic thoughts.

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><p>"What?" asked Zip when Winston told him that Lara wanted to chase a legend which supposedly could bring Alister back to life, "Has she recently lost her mind or what?"<p>

"It could be", replied the old butler, "Ever since she came back from Helheim, she has been obsessed with Alister's death, and she kept accusing herself for it."

"I can understand her grief, but does she realize how crazy that is? To find a shaman who knows a ritual to bring people back from death?"

"Her father did the same, Zip, when Lady Croft disappeared. He grieved so much when he lost his beloved wife, that he was ready to believe in anything. One day he heard about an ancient ritual that can bring people back to life. And he spent two years trying to find more information about it. After a lot of time, effort and money spent, he finally found one shaman in Central African jungle that allegedly could perform that ritual. Lord Croft had to find certain artifacts for this shaman, and to pay him a lot of money, and eventually the shaman did perform the ritual… But he did not have any success in bringing Lady Croft back to life. When asked why, the shaman said that he could not bring to life someone who was not dead. So that's the reason why Lord Croft refused to believe his wife was dead. After he came back from Central Africa, he was constantly repeating that Lady Croft was alive, and spent his entire life afterwards, trying to find her. So, Richard Croft was obviously a bit out of his mind when he could believe this shaman and accept this stupid explanation from him."

"But Winston", the black guy interrupted the butler, "As it turned out, the shaman was right, because indeed Lady Croft was not dead at the time!"

"Yes, but that does not mean that the ritual was more than just a legend. It was just a coincidence that the shaman guessed the truth when asked why he could not bring someone to life. Or, are you saying that you believe it is possible to resurrect from the dead?"

"Working with Lara for more than ten years, I realized that 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' Many legends that are considered fairytales and crazy ideas of primitive men, are now proven true, Winston. Take the Thor's Hammer for example, or the stories about Seth and Horus, which were considered to be nothing more than legends, until Lara proved them absolutely true. Who knows, Winston, what is out there, between life and death? Or after death?"

"Only two minutes ago you asked me if Lara has lost her mind, Zip", replied the butler with a slight irony in his voice, and then left Zip's quarters to finish his own business with preparations for Lara's trip.

Zip was really not sure what to think about this newest idea of his employer. He was doubtful but still, he knew Lara well enough to know how sensible she was. Yes, she was a bit crazy (only a crazy person could do things she did, and survive), she was totally eccentric, but also, she was very realistic and with both legs firmly on the ground. Maybe she grieved for Alister so much that she wanted to give it a try, Zip thought, and in some way he felt good because of that. Lara was preparing to check out the craziest legend of all, because she was obviously a devoted friend. And she was also his own friend, so she would probably do that for him, if needed.

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><p>That early May morning in Surrey was unexpectedly cold and gloomy, with heavy clouds full of rain and electricity, hanging directly above the beautiful manor of world's most famous archeologist. Lara was already up at five o'clock, making a new entry in her Journal.<p>

"_Two days ago I was searching the few papers from my father that survived the fire three years ago. I was very pleased to find his old Journal, written at the time when he was searching for my mother. Not all pages survived the fire, however, but enough of the text was there to give me clues I needed. When my mother mysteriously disappeared in Nepal and was transported to Helheim, my father dedicated whole his life to finding out what had happened to her back then. First he believed she was dead, and I could read in his Journal that he was so devastated and grievous that he wanted to die, but the only reason why he decided to live was because he had me… While I was in my boarding school, far away from home, he was searching for the body of my poor mother. But he could not find it in that temple in Nepal where she had disappeared. He wanted so badly to learn the truth about her, that he went to several people who claimed they can talk to the dead. But none of them could establish a contact with the soul of my mother. My father thought they were just ignorant fools who pretend to be mediums…_

_Then one day he came across one ancient text inscribed in an old rock plate. It took him three months to decipher the text, and what he read there changed the course of his life forever (and obviously, changed the course of my own life too). It said that there was one ritual, as old as the human race, that could bring dead people back to life, provided that they had been murdered, and that their death was not deserved. It also said that deep in the jungle of Central Africa there was a small temple named The Shrine of Spirits, which was the only place in the world where this ritual could be performed. My father was dubious, but nevertheless, he decided to give it a try. It took him six months to finally locate the Shrine, which was, according to his Journal, very well hidden. But he also included some tips in his Journal for finding it, and I am pretty sure I know exactly where it is._

_I decided also to give it a try. According to my father, who was very reasonable and intelligent man, the ritual he witnessed was not fake, but very powerful and dangerous, and the only reason it was not successful was that my mother was not dead at the time. The shaman told him so, and it turned out later to be true. My father wrote down the name of this shaman, as well as the name of his tribe, so I hope the shaman is still living and I can find him. I contacted Banda, my African friend from Congo, so he will meet me there at the spot, to help me get to the shaman and ask him a huge favor._

_I know I sound crazy, thinking that resurrection is actually possible. But I decided to give it a try, because Alister deserves it. Maybe this is just a myth, maybe my father was so desperate to believe anything, but I will certainly give it a try. If I don't do it, I will hate myself for the rest of my life. I am doing this for Alister, and for me too, to bring peace to my troubled heart. I expect nothing; I just go and do everything I can, for my friend who sacrificed his life for me."_

After she had finished writing, she stood up from the desk with her laptop, and went to her bedroom again. Her long brown hair was still wet after the shower she had already taken, but she did not care to dry it. After having braided it, she took off her bath robe and remained only in her underwear. Cold windy air that came through open windows of her bedroom, made her skin shudder, but she never paid any attention to it, being disciplined to turn off all physical senses when she was on a mission. She opened her large closet, and picked up kaki shorts and blue shirt that will cover her body in African jungle. Having them packed in her backpack, she decided to travel to Africa in her favorite jeans and sweater, so that everybody would conclude she was nothing but a tourist.

It was not yet half past five when she got down to the foyer. Winston, always feeling cold, due to his old age, was making a fire in the fireplace, still half sleeping, wrapped in his green woolen pullover.

"Good morning, Miss Croft", his voice was sleepy and shivering from cold, "A dreadful morning, isn't it?"

"As a matter of fact, it is very nice, good for traveling. I hate to travel when it is too hot", replied she and a very loud thunder came as an answer from outside. That very second it began to rain heavily. Winston made a nice big fire and sat in the armchair closest to the fireplace. "Has Zip got up by now?" asked Lara.

"Yes, he has, Miss Croft, you can find him in the kitchen, invading the refrigerator, as usual."

"Is everything ready for our departure?"

"Yes, Miss Croft, I cleaned up your guns and reloaded all spare clips, and also felt free to add a pair of nice brand new Uzis to your luggage as well. I also packed up your grapple and compass, as usual, along with a few medipacks and flares, and I believe Zip will take care about the food supplies."

"I think I will also need some jewelry and trinkets to make a present to the local chief. Can you see to it, Winston, before you get burned by that fire?" asked she with her inevitable smile.

"Consider it already done, Miss, and lay assured that the chief will be satisfied and co-operable", the old man smiled back.

In the kitchen she found Zip, who was packing sandwiches and drinks in his military bag, excited like he was sent to another planet to represent the Earth. Lara had to admit to herself that Zip was really a handsome guy. She wondered why he decided to stay with her all this time and not trying to find himself some girl to have sex with. He would have a lot of success in the 'outside' world, she thought. But Zip somehow had no life outside Croft Manor, and never more than ten feet away from the nearest computer. Now, he is taken to an adventure with notorious Lara Croft. No wonder he is so excited and takes everything so serious.

"Hey, Lara, nice morning, huh?" said Zip, not once interrupting his packing of food.

"Very nice, I'm glad I see you ready to go. I am sure you will bring your PC with you, although you will have nowhere to charge the battery in the jungle village, but I am not sure you have brought any personal weapon, have you?"

"As a matter of fact, I have, I bring the knife too, for food, and for possible enemies I bring my good old Magnum 357, nothing more, nothing less.

"I hope you also have a laser sight for that baby with you?" asked Lara, remembering how laser sight was a helpful thing back then in Egypt when she had messed up with Egyptian god Seth and almost died at the temple of Horus.

"Oh, I have a laser sight somewhere in my arsenal, I will bring it in three minutes, no pro"

"See to it, Zip, it can get useful for opening doors and killing mummies" said Lara smiling to her friend, and left the kitchen through dining room.

Half of minute later she was on the other side of the manor, locking the garage and entering codes into alarm systems. Five minutes later, after one more check of the gear, Lara and her friend left the manor and set to the nearest airport in Lara's casual car, eight years old black Mercedes. Last night she already arranged rent-a-car service and their best jeep, tools and water. Lara had given many museums around the world some of her most prized relics, and due to that she had a diplomatic immunity in a foreign country, so she never had had problems at customs for carrying weapons and ammo. And finally, she had recently bought her own private jet, a small but very fast and practical airplane that saved her many hours and days of waiting for an airplane to somewhere. She hoped this time it would not be so devastating as it was three years ago when she had lost Alister and had to shoot and kill the thrall of her own mother… Twenty minutes later they were in the jet, and two hours later they arrived at the heart of Africa, at the coast of the river Congo.

_**End of the first chapter**_


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